Researchers have detected tiny airborne particles containing RNA from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, both inside and outside of rooms in which infected people were self-isolating at home.
This finding suggests that airborne transmission beyond the isolation rooms in homes may pose a risk of infection to other home occupants.
The researchers collected air samples from 11 homes in rooms where a newly infected person was self-isolating, as well as in an adjacent common room to test for the presence of three SARS-CoV-2-specific genes in airborne particles.
They found positive air samples for at least one of three virus genes in six of the 11 isolation rooms and in six of the nine common rooms. Seven of these nine homes reported no other cases in the home.
To better understand how the virus spreads in the home, researchers asked participants to record their time in the isolation room and the common room.
“We discovered that many did not strictly adhere to self-isolation, with eight of the 11 infected study participants reporting spending from a few hours to 14 hours in the common room and five of 11 participants reporting spending time in other areas of the home,” Kipen said.
Additionally, in four of the homes, other residents were also positive or had symptoms.
“The findings show that tiny airborne particles containing SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be found in homes of infected individuals beyond the room where they are supposedly self-isolating.”